Mapping the Languages of India

As per a 2018 analysis of the 2011 Census of India, while there are 19,569 languages or dialects spoken as mother tongues in the country, only 121 are spoken by 10,000 or more people. Of these, the Indian Constitution accords special recognition to 22 languages, which together account for the mother tongue of 96.71% of India’s population.

In this post, I’ve recreated a thematic GIS application titled “Languages of India”, based on tutorial instructions published on Learn ArcGIS. The application was originally accessible via my own link.

(May 2023 update: my original link has since expired and the project is no longer accessible. However, the same application has been recreated by another user and can be accessed here)

Below, I discuss the key features and design elements of the application.

Figure 1: Landing Page of the GIS Application – “Languages of India”

The central feature of the landing page is a district-level map of India, symbolized by the dominant mother tongue spoken in each district. The shade intensity indicates the percentage of the population using that language as their mother tongue.

On the right-hand side are bookmarks that redirect the user to custom map views highlighting districts where each of the constitutionally recognized languages (all except Sanskrit) is dominant. For example, Figure 2 below shows the custom view for Bengali.

Figure 2: Bengali language prevalence in East & North-East India

The denser the shade, the higher the percentage of native speakers (Bengali, in this case) in that district. Much of West Bengal appears in deep blue, clearly marking it as a Bengali heartland. In contrast, while Bengali speakers are present across parts of the North-East, they constitute a smaller proportion of the local population there, resulting in paler shades.

The GIS application is dynamic, revealing additional information as users interact with it. Clicking on any district opens a pop-up window (Figure 3), which displays detailed information on the mother-tongue composition of that district. This helps users assess whether a district is linguistically cosmopolitan or relatively homogeneous.

Figure 3: Pop-up window showing mother-tongue composition for Hyderabad district

Alongside the “Languages of India” tab at the top of the application is the “Language Density” tab. Selecting it opens the view shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Language Density view in the GIS Application

This district-level map, to me, is a striking visual representation of India’s cultural and linguistic diversity. As indicated by the legend below the tab, the map shows the number of mother tongues spoken in each district. The symbology ranges from pale yellow (only one mother tongue spoken) to dark red (thirty or more mother tongues spoken in the district!).

On the left side of Figure 4 are List Cards containing concise fact snippets about India’s linguistic landscape. Clicking on any card dynamically zooms the map to the relevant region.

Figure 5: Dynamic map view triggered by clicking a List Card

One insight that genuinely surprised me was that Dimapur district in Nagaland is the most linguistically diverse district in India, with 44 mother tongues spoken by its population. This highlights the inherent value of GIS-based exploration—spatial analysis often surfaces insights that challenge assumptions and stereotypes.

Another example was Dungarpur district in southern Rajasthan, which has a significant Punjabi-speaking population (21%)—a finding that contradicts the common assumption that Punjabi speakers are concentrated only in India’s northern states.

Do explore the Languages of India GIS Application yourself—maps remain one of the most effective ways to convey complex information intuitively. This application was built using Esri's ArcGIS Experience Builder and is optimized for viewing across devices, including televisions, desktops, tablets, and mobile phones.

Figure 6: GIS Applications designed using Esri's ArcGIS platform are beautifully rendered on a variety of screen sizes

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Intelloc Mapping Services, Kolkata | Mapmyops.com offers a suite of Mapping and Analytics solutions that seamlessly integrate with Operations Planning, Design, and Audit workflows. Our capabilities include — but are not limited to — Drone Services, Location Analytics & GIS Applications, Satellite Imagery Analytics, Supply Chain Network Design, Subsurface Mapping and Wastewater Treatment. Projects are executed pan-India, delivering actionable insights and operational efficiency across sectors.

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